Under Yggdrasil's Branches
by the.Merines
Summary: EVA Xenogears crossover attempt. SEELE, twelve committee members who strive towards God's resting place. NERV, that strives to defend Mankind. Ikari Shinji, whose DNA was marked from birth...
1. Introductions

Under Yggdrasil's Branches_  
written _by the.Merines  
started: 09.12.06 20:04  
finished: 09.13.06 21:23  
published: 09.14.06  
disclaimed: I do not own Evangelion, Xenogears, Xenosaga or anything contained within or associated with them. I do, however, own Xenogears, Xenosaga Episodes I-III, and an ADV EVA thinpak. I forget which one, there are so many... This is a side-project for me at this time, just a little test of my writing abilities.

_Introductions_

In the beginning there was no Earth.

Then, God said, "Be," and the world was created. However, it was still without human beings. One day, God said to His angels in Heaven, "I wish to create a human to be my deputy."

The Angels asked, "Are we not enough to carry out your orders?"

"I know better," was God's reply. Then God created Adam. He gave him permission to live in Heaven, to do as he pleased, to eat and drink what he liked. Adam could eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except the fruit of one particular tree.

And so Adam enjoyed himself. Soon, however, he became lonely. So he said to God, "Please give me a companion." And God gave him a friend, Hawwa.

After creating Adam and Hawwa, God taught them about the world. One day God called all his angels and said, "These are my creations. You should bow down to them in reverence." All angels obeyed except for Iblees and Shaitaan.

Shaitaan said, "Why should I bow? I am made from fire, and he is from only clay. I will not bow to him." Iblees was more cunning. He began to think of ways to make Adam disobey God. One day, he whispered into Adam's ear that the fruit of the forbidden tree was the best-tasting of all fruits.

"If you eat it, you will live forever," he said.

Adam was tempted by what Iblees said and ate the fruit. As soon as Adam and Hawwa ate the fruit, they realized they had made a mistake. Because of this, they hid themselves from God. However, God was everywhere in His knowledge and knew. God was very angry with Adam and Hawwa and threw them down to Earth. The two wept and begged for God's mercy and forgiveness. At last God took pity on them and pardoned them. Then He said that, if they obeyed God, Adam and Hawwa could return to Heaven when they died.

If they did not obey God, however, something horrible awaited them- Hell.

Adam and Hawwa spent the rest of their lives obeying God and doing good in the hope that they would one day be able to return to Heaven with God's approval. They had many, many children. This is why Adam is called the father of the human race.

…

Ikari Gendo grinned a wry little grin. '_What an interesting, yet ultimately silly, concept_," he mused. He set down the tattered old book and looked at the other piece of paper on his desk. He looked over its contents once again; most of it would be censored before being sent out. '_My son… The destiny which awaits you is incredibly cruel. The _mark _which is written in your DNA… isn't the same as his. The Lord marked Cain as an act of mercy, so that he would not be killed for his crime.'_

"If anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over," Gendo muttered. '_He was cursed by God to live forever, to wander the earth without purpose. Our own Committee chairman… You are the one whom I cannot kill, whom I cannot appear to disobey. You are the one who murdered her. Yui was your Abel. When all is said and done, one way or another, you will continue to walk this planet… forever.'_

Ikari reached out and grabbed a pen, scrawling a note on the paper. 'Come here.' A woman stepped out of the darkness in his office's corner and approached Ikari. Her dark blue hair was cut short in the back, while her long bangs were parted in the middle, covering her purple eyes when viewed from certain angles.

"Simple enough, Commander," she said softly. "Will he really respond?"

"I believe he will," he responded with his usual cold confidence. "If not, I will send out agents to find and retrieve him. Miang, the day he arrives will be the beginning of the end. If God exists as He does in the Bible, then we are beyond being pardoned. In order to enter Heaven, we will have to force our way there." Miang smiled knowingly behind him.

"It is time for human beings to become something so much greater. Now, what will you do with Ramsus?" she asked, shifting the subject. "With your son's arrival, his presence will become nothing more than a distraction."

"Worried about your charge?" Ikari asked coldly.

"Not in the way you're implying," she retorted in a playful tone. "Because of who he is, we can't simply send him away. He has nowhere to go."

"Yes. He will continue his training at his present schedule, with no changes. If for any reason the Third Children decides to disobey me, Ramsus will be a suitable substitute. That orphan has been troublesome all along. The old men may still hold some power over him… He will feel jealousy towards the Third, undoubtedly." The Commander stood, holding his son's summons in his hand.

"Feeling anxious?" Ikari stood, the light which hit his glasses allowing his eyes to be seen. To Miang they looked unusually soft, almost regretful.

"Everything starts from here. The path to God's resting place, Mahonon, as written in the Dead Sea Scrolls…"

…

A month later, the fourteen-year old Ikari Shinji arrived in Tokyo-3 via train. He had been summoned by his father, whom he had not seen in ten years. Even on the anniversaries of his mother's death, in all those years, not once had he crossed paths with that man. Based on his own assumptions and the words of his teacher, his father was a cold-hearted and uncaring man. '_In other words, he's a bastard. What kind of father doesn't contact his own son for ten years? Not even a birthday card or anything. Now all of a sudden he calls me here, away from everyone I've ever known…'_

At least that's what his teacher said. In truth Ikari could not remember a single thing from more than three years before. There was a definable gap in his memories- beginning with his mother's voice and ending when he woke up in a small rural village three years ago. At first it had bothered him greatly. He spent many sleepless nights crying as he tried to recall things which didn't seem to exist. His teacher helped him, and eventually he got over these problems.

Supposedly, according to what _wasn't_ covered in black tape on his father's summons, someone was supposed to pick up Shinji… '_Twenty minutes ago,'_ Shinji thought as he checked his watch. It was nearly one in the afternoon.

"Your attention please," a voice suddenly called from a network of megaphones set up around the city. In actuality Shinji was not in Tokyo-3; the train station was five kilometers outside of the city limits. "As of 12:30 today, a special state of emergency has been declared for the entire Kanto region, centering in the Tokai region. All residents, please calmly and quickly retreat to your designated shelters. Repeat, as of 12:30…"

"What does that mean?" Shinji asked no one in particular, mostly because the platform had been completely empty for the past half hour of his visit. "I get asked to come here and now asked to evacuate. I'm not a resident… so I'm basically screwed. There don't seem to be any shelters near here," he noted as he looked around. "Plus I'm talking to myself."

Shinji sighed loudly. '_There's only two stations between here and Tokyo-3. The person who was supposed to pick me up sure is late… and now there's some kind of big emergency. Maybe I should just walk the rest of the way. Is there gonna be a war or something?' _As if to verify his last thought, a jet fighter suddenly flew overhead. "Jeez, he sure is flying low!" The sound of the jet's engine was overcome by a deep bass, which shook the ground beneath Shinji's feet. Before he could consider the ramifications of such noises, however, a missile flew through the train station.

The young boy instinctively covered his head with his arms. After it had passed, he followed its path as it flew up and over a mountain just a few hundred meters from the station. It exploded with enormous force, seemingly in mid-air. Almost like it had ran into something…

His suspicions once again proved correct as a… well, a monster stepped out from behind the mountain. '_That noise… was that thing's footsteps? What is that thing! It's the cause of the emergency!'_

A fleet of VTOL aircraft slowly edged into the airspace around the huge being. All at once they loosed their payloads, shooting everything they had at the monster. Its body was lost in the blasts for several agonizingly long seconds. A lance shot out of the smoke, piercing the metal frame of one VTOL. The craft lost propulsion and fell ungracefully to the ground, where it exploded upon impact as its engines overloaded.

Shinji was horrified at the monster's apparent invincibility. It had taken over twenty direct hits from what seemed to be powerful missiles without a scratch! As he stumbled back away from the fighting, new aircraft flew in from the atmosphere above the monster. They weren't the same as the VTOLs which were already on the scene. Indeed, their odd humanoid shapes seemed to defy gravity rather than fly.

'_Is this some kind of new technology? Robotic fighters? If the military had these as a secret weapon, why didn't they use them in the first place?'_ The new weapons were dwarfed by the monster, but seemed to hold their own as fighting resumed. The humanoid weapons shot what seemed to be energy beams at the monster, while at the same time nimbly dodging its lance attacks.

As Shinji gawked at the fight, his ride finally arrived. The engine noise was drowned out by the explosions, so when the driver honked the car's horn, he visibly jumped. "Sorry I'm late!" a female voice called. He turned slowly, wondering what other strange things he would see today. To his relief, the woman who had contacted him a week earlier was sitting in the driver's seat. "You're Ikari Shinji-kun, right?"

"Yeah, and you're Katsuragi-san," he stated as he got into her car.

"'Misato' is just fine." As they sped away, Shinji found himself fixated on the battle, which he now viewed through the car's side mirror. "You seem awfully calm, considering all that you just saw."

"Maybe, but… What is that… _thing_?"

"We had a tank battalion waiting for it on the shoreline, but it was completely wiped out. High-explosive, armor piercing warheads don't seem to have any effect either," she noted, a small glimmer of satisfaction in her voice. "That… is what we refer to as an 'Angel.'"

"Angel?" he repeated slowly.

"Maybe now isn't the best time to explain," she said, her voice becoming tense. "Cover your head!" Before Shinji realized what was happening, the body of a missile was briefly visible on the road in front of them before the explosion blinded him. He felt the car tossed into the air.

The next thing he remembered was Misato pulling him out of her once-pristine Alpine A310. "Those morons! What the hell good is a fragmenting warhead gonna do… except put all kind of shrapnel through the body of my car! And my dress… Arg! This thing cost a _fortune_! And my sunglasses, these were designer!" she lamented as she held up the shattered accessory. "Watch out!"

Once more Shinji was thrown to the ground, this time covered by Misato's body. He caught a glimpse of the monster flying down towards their location before his vision was blocked by the woman's chest. The ground shook violently as the weight of the huge being slammed against the earth. An odd sound followed soon after, similar to the landing but deeper pitched and higher in the air. Misato jumped to her feet and helped Shinji up. Another monster, barely more human-shaped than the first, had slammed its body into the other one.

"Th-there's another!" Shinji yelled. "Another monster!"

"Yeah, but that one's on our side," Misato explained over the cacophony of the titans' struggles. "Oh man," Misato said as she glanced down at her watch. "We really need to get going! Come on, get in the car!" The two got in as quickly as they could. "Buckle up," the woman stated as she stomped on the accelerator, "and think positive thoughts!"

Again they sped away from the battlefield. Various pieces of Misato's car and the slag which punctured its body clanged against the pavement as they fell. Shinji turned around in his seat to catch 'their' monster being violently thrown to the ground. "That one's getting hammered!" he shouted.

'_Just as I thought,'_ Misato thought. '_Rei's_ _not experienced enough in Unit 01; the burden is far too heavy for her as things are now. I told them to hold her back… The Commander is just as stubborn and cold-hearted as everyone says. And that woman who is always with him doesn't seem much better.'_

…

In the Command center, things were chaotic. "Pilot's life signs are dropping!"

"A-10 nerve response rate down below five percent!"

"Unit 01: hemorrhaging through the chest plate seams!"

"She wasn't able to handle it, as we expected," Miang stated from her perpetual position behind Ikari. The Commander sat at the command desk, steepled hands resting below his nose. This was what the bridge staff referred to as the 'Gendo Pose®.'

"N2 deployment from the UN forces in thirty seconds!"

"Retrieve Unit 01 using route 192 as quickly as possible," Ikari ordered in a powerful voice. On the huge holoscreen which hovered in front of the bridge, the purple unit was on its knees. It was pure luck that she had fallen on one of the return routes. The ground around the fallen mech illuminated and quickly sunk down into the earth, an armored shutter door sealing the route. Through the complex system of elevators built beneath Tokyo-3 and the outlying areas, EVA-01 would soon be back inside the Merkava, NERV's underground headquarters.

…

Back on the highway leading towards Tokyo-3's center, Shinji noticed something odd. "All those planes and small robots are running away!" His body heaved forward against the seatbelt as Misato slammed on the brakes, bringing her beaten vehicle to an abrupt stop.

"Put your head between your knees and brace for impact!"

Everything was silent for a moment. From a kilometer above the target, a United Nations plane dropped its deadly payload. The N2 weapon had been developed during the Impact War. It was ironic, because its creators wished for a weapon with the power of a nuclear bomb, but without the radioactive fallout. The monster was enveloped in beautiful light before the reaction occurred.

Again the car was tossed, this time much more violently. It flipped more time than Shinji could count, making him sick to his stomach. After the shockwave had cleared and the sounds of debris hitting the car's exposed undercarriage stopped, the pair of humans extracted themselves from the old Alpine, which was left setting on its side. "You OK, Shinji-kun?" Misato asked as she tried to pat the dust off her dress.

"Yeah… My mouth's full of dirt though…" Misato's shoulder's suddenly slumped.

"I… I can't take anymore of this," she whimpered.

'_Jeez, so much for maintaining integrity in front of children…'_ Ikari mentally noted.

"Well… In any case let's get this car turned on its right side. We're running so late!"

"Just where are you in such a hurry to get to… Ms. White Rabbit?" Shinji asked with a light chuckle.

"I'm supposed to deliver you to the Merkava," she explained quickly, though her answer didn't help Shinji's understanding of the situation. "Now push!" The two heaved and ho'ed until the vehicle was back on four wheels. "Good job!"

"So what were you saying about… taking me somewhere?" Shinji asked as they continued onwards. No response came. Instead Misato grabbed her cell phone. "Um… I guess that's classified, too?"

"Hey, get a car train ready. The express one… Yes, of course! I said I'd take that responsibility… OK. See ya."

…

The next few minutes passed quickly for Shinji. Before he even realize it, the car had entered a tunnel. Misato parked on what Shinji assumed was the aforementioned car train, which promptly began moving the car and its contents downward. The woman handed Shinji a book. It's cover read 'NERV: For your own eyes only.'

"What's this?" he asked softly.

"Undocumented government organization NERV, under direct control of the UN."

"I've never heard of anything like that," he noted under his breath.

"Well, the UN keeps certain things secret. NERV, Angels, EVAs, Gears, our very existence… These are all top-secret things that you're privy to because of your father's summons."

"Is that where my father works? NERV?"

"Yes. I work there as well."

"Saving Mankind from the shadows, huh?"

"Is that sarcasm?" Misato asked with a small giggle.

"Nevermind… Um… Misato-san?"

"What is it?" she asked as she fixed her makeup.

"Why did my father send for me so suddenly? I thought… maybe he'd forgotten about me."

"You can ask him yourself shortly."

"We're on our way to see him, aren't we?" he asked. The twinge of sadness in his voice alerted Misato.

"You not comfortable with your father, are you?" she asked, trying to sound gentle.

"No, it's not that…" '_How can I tell her… How can I explain that I don't remember anything about my father, let alone anything from beyond three years ago? She'll think I'm some kind of mental case.'_ "Besides, even if I do see him, we'll just end up having an argument, probably."

The car train finally passed out of the underground tunnel and out into the open space of the Geofront. Shinji pushed his face close to the window. "Wow! What is this?" Shinji noted the other train tracks that circled the huge cave, as well as the lake and cluster of buildings near the center of the floor.

"This is what we call the Geofront. The natural sunlight is collected at the surface and transmitted here by fiber optics. At the bottom is NERV's headquarters, a fortress for all Mankind… the Merkava."

They soon reached the bottom and exited the car. Shinji followed the woman around for more than twenty minutes before he opened his mouth. "Um… Just when are we going to reach my father's office?"

"Wh-what! Just shut up and follow me!"

As if on cue, an elevator nearby opened. A blond woman dressed in a white lab coat, skirt, black stockings and glasses stepped out. She looked annoyed. "Captain Katsuragi, you're late!" the woman chastised.

"Ah, Ritsuko!"

"So late, in fact, that I was sent to find you! We don't have the time or the manpower to worry about finding lost puppies and the poor boys following them!"

"Sorry! I guess I still haven't gotten used to this place yet," Misato responded with a giggle. Ritsuko sighed loudly and then focused her attention on Shinji. "Is this the so-called Third Children?"

"Yep. According to the Marduk Report, anyway." Shinji began to feel uncomfortable as the two women looked him over.

"I'm Akagi Ritsuko of the first engineering division, the head of Project E. Please to meet you," the blond stated.

"Likewise," Shinji responded. He immediately cursed himself for responding in such a distant manner. "Uh, that is..."

"He's a bit like his father, in that he's kind of hard to reach," Misato explained. Ritsuko smiled just a bit.

"Well, Shinji-kun, I have something to show you before we meet with your father."

"Show me?"

…

In the Command center, things were still chaotic. "Angel still advancing!"

"Target broken through the power mine field perimeter!"

"Changing direction. Analyzing… Confirmed! It's headed directly towards Tokyo-3!"

"All personnel- move to first stage battle positions!" Ikari said before turning to Fuyutsuki, his Sub-Commander. "Fuyutsuki, I leave matters in your hands." The old man nodded, taking note of Miang's noticeable absence.

"Understood." The Commander exited the bridge via elevator. "Their first encounter in more than three years… I wonder if his son even remembers his face…?"

…

"All-personnel, move to first stage battle positions! Repeat, all personnel…"

"First stage already? It must be progressing more quickly than we expected," Ritsuko stated as the trio boarded a small boat. It was moored in some kind of red liquid which Shinji had never seen before. "They are utilizing ground defenses."

"What? Why?" Misato questioned.

"Unit 01 is currently in cooling mode. It can be restarted at anytime."

"I'm not worried about the EVA. What about Rei? She seemed to take a beating back there! What will they do for a pilot?"

'_Rei? EVA? Was there a person riding that purple robot from before?'_ Shinji wondered. Ritsuko seemed to ignore Misato's question.

"So, the N2 mine didn't work at all, huh?" Misato asked.

"No. It slowed down the target for a while, but it's began advancing again. It's also utilized an AT Field, and it's shown the ability to change its tactics during battle. It's _learning_ and adapting. We don't believe it's being operated by remote control. The Magi indicate that it's an autonomous living being moving by some internal, programmed intelligence."

"You mean… just like EVA," Misato said in a low tone.

"Exactly." Shinji failed to notice the giant blue hand which seemed to have torn its way out of the metal wall to his back. After only a couple more minutes, the boat reached its apparent destination. Misato helped him off the boat and through a door. Beyond the door was nothing but darkness.

"Um… Where's the lights?" he asked timidly. The door closed behind the two women, leaving them in absolute darkness. Ritsuko let the air hang still for just a second before pulling the light switch on. Shinji fell back and onto his rear end at the sight in front of him. Not more than ten meters directly in front of him was a giant face. "Th-this thing? Is this the robot that saved us earlier!"

"Well, it's not exactly a robot," Ritsuko explained. "Although it is a man-made artificial creation. The all-purpose, decisive humanoid battle android, constructed in secret… It is mankind's last line of defense. Codename: Evangelion."

"So… all of this is… my father's work?" Shinji whispered.

"That's correct." Shinji's head snapped up. Above the EVA's head stood a man. Although Shinji had no memory of his father at all, he knew this man was the one. "It's been a while."

"F… father?"

"Shinji, listen closely to me. You're going to ride in her."

"Ride…?"

"You will fight against the Angel," he said, his cold voice full of confidence.

"Wait just a minute!" Misato shouted as she took a step forward. "It took even Rei _seven months_ before she could even synchronize with her EVA!"

"All he needs to do is sit inside," the Commander insisted. "We don't expect anything more."

"Captain Katsuragi, our number one priority is to halt the advance of that Angel," Ritsuko chided in a rather demeaning tone. "If we have someone here who has absolutely any chance of synchronizing with an EVA, we must take advantage of that! Unless you have some kind of alternative?"

"…" Misato's face twisted into an angry frown.

"I see. Shinji-kun, this way…" Ritsuko put a hand behind his back and pushed gently, but he didn't budge. Shinji's hands were balled at his sides, his brow furrowed.

"You… You called me here so I could ride in this thing… and fight against that monster? Are you serious! I can't do such a thing!" he yelled.

"You must accept this explanation," his father said. "You are the best candidate we have. No… You're the _only_ candidate we have."

"But, why me? I don't understand!"

"You don't need to understand! You just need to sit in the seat," the Commander shouted.

"No! What are you talking about! You expect me… Is this what you called me here for? So you could order me to my death!" The Commander regained his composure once more.

"If you don't do as I say, all of humanity will perish. As of this moment, mankind's fate is resting on your shoulders."

Shinji's mind raced… All of this was happening too quickly! "**No**! No matter what, I refuse to ride in this thing! I won't fight!" The elder Ikari took a step back.

"Fine. In that case I have no further use for you. You may go home… coward." His last word reverberated in Shinji's ears, whose eyes widened.

'_I… If I don't sacrifice myself here and now… I'm a coward?'_ He looked towards Misato for support.

"Get in it," was her stern response.

'_Even Misato-san… What the hell am I supposed to do!'_

End.

Author's note: I got this idea after replaying Xenogears. The two stories are often compared, but I really couldn't find any decent crossovers between the two. So, here's the beginning of my attempt. I'm writing this as something to tide over the writer's block I'm feeling for my other stories. It may seem like EVA episode 1 with a few smatterings of Xenogears put in, but I plan on changing things very gradually. Hopefully I can add enough interesting additional storylines to keep a few of you reading.


	2. Codename Evangelion

Under Yggdrasil's Branches _  
written _by the.Merines  
started: 09.15.06 22:23  
finished: 10.09.06 21:02  
published: 10.09.06  
disclaimed: I do not own Evangelion, Xenogears, Xenosaga or anything contained within or associated with them. Some reader emailed me and asked if I had ever watched or read EVA. While the internet ensures ambiguity, it sounded condescending. I laughed a little to myself, then felt sad. I've watched EVA many times and have read the manga volumes 1-9 twice. I've been involved with fanfiction in one way or another since 1999. People's inability to read hasn't gotten much better. On a better note, my replica Death Note arrived from HK today. Make sure I don't see your face and name, doubting user.  
**Final warning:** This is a **crossover** between Evangelion and Xenogears/Xenosaga.

_Codename: Evangelion_

The booming of the Angel's nearing attacks were heard even as deep as the Evangelion cages; Ikari Gendo stood above Unit 01. He looked down on his only son with what he could only describe as disgust. It may have been disappointment, but that implied he faith that his son would comply to begin with.

"Fine. In that case I have no further use for you. You may go home… coward." His last word reverberated in Shinji's ears.

'_I… If I don't sacrifice myself here and now…, I'm a coward?'_ He looked towards Misato for support.

"Get in it," was her stern response.

'_Even Misato-san… What the hell am I supposed to do!'_ The younger Ikari collapsed to his knees, holding his hands up to his face. Just as he was about to stand once more, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. Shinji looked up towards the source of the pressure. A woman with dark blue hair, wearing a uniform similar to his father's but white in color, was standing over him. Her face was neither judgmental nor sympathetic.

"Young Ikari, stand up," she said in a calm, even tone. For whatever reason, Shinji felt calmed by the woman and followed her instructions. "Do you know the story of Adam and Eve?"

"Vaguely…" he quietly responded as he stood up.

"They are said to be the first human beings created by God. However, there was actually a woman before Eve. This woman was created by God from the dust, like Adam, as was considered his equal. She refused to lay below Adam in submission and was punished. Because of this she felt bitter towards God and Mankind." Shinji blinked in complete confusion. The woman smiled gently. "Now that you concentrated on this story and not your fear, don't you feel better?"

Shinji nodded stiffly as he realized that she was right. "I am your father's assistant. You may call me Miang. Now, no one can make you ride the Evangelion. Nobody can force you to do anything you don't wish. However, as your father explained, you are the only pilot we have who isn't seriously injured. You saw what happened before." Shinji thought back to the beating the purple robot had taken earlier. "The girl who was riding the EVA at that time was taken directly from the emergency ward of our hospital."

"A… a girl was… riding this thing?"

"If the train you took hadn't been halted because of the emergency, there is a good chance that her recovery would not have been disturbed. In any case she cannot pilot again so soon. So don't you think, Ikari Shinji-san, that we brought you here for a reason? You must have known that there was a reason."

"I… Sure… Why else would my father have summoned me here?" he rhetorically asked.

"So you must have come here expecting something to happen," she explained smoothly. "Knowing this, and knowing that no one else can defeat that Angel, you still won't ride in her?"

"I… I…" Shinji's gaze faltered to the ground.

"Holding the lives of all human souls in the palm of your hand, and selfishly deciding to throw them all away… Don't you think only God should have that kind of power?" Shinji's eyes widened at this statement. What… was this woman offering him?

'_God's power… The android weapon Evangelion… Angels attacking… If no one else can, I have to do this?'_

"I'll do it… I'll pilot it!" Shinji's head snapped back up towards the person who'd stolen the words right out of his mouth. At the far side of the connection bridge stood a blond boy, probably about Shinji's age and with the same basic build. His hair was parted in the middle and seemed very well-kept. Shinji sensed an air of aristocracy about the boy. His face was Asiatic, but with such features Ikari doubted he was Japanese. Miang took a quick step towards the boy before Shinji could voice his confusion.

"Ramsus, you are not suited to this task," she sternly replied. "Return to your room immediately!" The blond boy seemed to consider his course of action for a second before running towards Shinji and Miang's position.

"This is what I came here for!" he yelled, placing a hand on his chest. "I went through all those tests, which were _no treat_ I remind you, with the promise that I would be able to fight using the Evangelion when an Angel attacked! It was bad enough that the First was sent out…"

'_But my father said that I was the only suitable pilot… Then what's this guy talking about? Which one is telling the truth?'_

"Kahran Ramsus!" Both the boy and Shinji looked upwards at Commander Ikari. "You were allowed to stay here as NERV personnel as a test pilot only. This information was made available to you when the Marduk Report found the Third Children. Isn't that correct?" The blond one's resolve seemed to waver for a second.

"Yes, that's true! But…"

"If you agree, then leave here. You're interfering." Shinji felt his heart tighten when he saw the boy's eyes blanken as he turned away.

'_Is this… sympathy? I sympathize with that loud kid? It seems like he was brought here as a pilot before me… But now that I'm here, he has no place? Why not just use him instead? Why me, father?'_

Misato reached out and softly grabbed Shinji's shoulder. She felt him twitch, as if she had interrupted some deep thought. "Shinji-kun… If you don't want to, or if you can't do this… you don't have to…" she whispered, backing down from her previous attitude. The young Ikari finally unballed his fists, taking a meaningful look up at his father.

"Even if it's a lie that I'm the only one who can fight that monster, it isn't fair that I'm placing my life before everyone else's," he stated with inexplicable confidence. "After all, my life was worthless to begin with." The corner of the Commander's lips turned up slightly.

"So be it."

"Begin re-writing Unit 01's core for the Third Children!" Ritsuko immediately ordered. "Halt cooling operations; initialize start-up processes!" She and Miang made a quick exit, with Misato not far behind. Shinji was left in the middle of the bridge, standing alone in front of his father and the massive bust of Evangelion Unit 01.

"Father, I-"

"Nevermind. Shinji, I take back what I said."

He could do nothing but gawk as his father walked away.

…

Shinji's eyes slowly opened and were immediately assaulted by bright white sunlight. The sound of a local radio talk show was barely audible, though the room was absolutely silent otherwise. He inwardly groaned as his head began pounding fiercely. He was feeling a sensation that he had become quite used to in the past; the feeling of missing time. When he had been beaten by the Angel it was the middle of the night, and now it was sometime during the day…

The sudden noise of paper rustling quickly garnered Ikari's full attention. He blinked in confusion as he realized that there was a girl sitting directly next to his bed, reading a book. She didn't even seem to notice his movements. '_Maybe I'm dreaming?'_ he wondered. As if sensing his apprehension, she closed the book and sat it down on her lap. Her head and eyes moved to focus on him.

There was something odd about this girl, Shinji decided. Her face was as calm and blank as the hospital scenery.

"You're Ikari-kun?" the girl asked blandly.

"That's right," he responded, his voice scratchy from disuse. He cleared his throat. "I am," he reiterated out of embarrassment. She reached into the black messenger bag on the ground next to her. From it appeared a small black cell phone, which she placed on his beside table. "Um, what's that?"

"A cell phone. You will be contacted."

"Oh, I see," he slowly said. "I guess we won, huh?" Her eyebrows lowered ever-so slightly, as if his question was unexpected. He didn't inquire any further, based on such a response. The girl then stood, in a somewhat awkward way. Only then did Shinji realize that her right arm was in a cast, and she had a sling over her shoulder. "Uh… What happened to your arm?"

"Are you really… that same person?" she asked, not looking at him but at the wall in front of her. Before he could think of an answer to such a strange question, the quiet girl unceremoniously left the room. Shinji was left in silence once again, utterly perplexed. There was something in her voice that calmed him, which in itself was strange since the emotion in her voice bordered on nonexistent.

After an undetermined amount of time, since there was no clock in the hospital room, a doctor walked in, chart in hand. He flipped through the pages with a look of disinterest on his face. Unknown to Shinji, most of his medical past had been blanked out.

"Well, Ikari-kun, it looks like you'll be able to make a rather speedy recovery," he said with a sigh. "Your arm will probably ache for a couple weeks, but ordinary Tylenol should be able to help. When you're ready to leave, talk to the nurse at the front desk for your release papers." Again his visitor left without any further conversation.

'_Why does it seem like the people around here dislike me?'_ he wondered as he changed into the school uniform which had been hanging behind the door. True to the doctor's word, his left arm hurt. Pretty badly, actually; Shinji could barely use the appendage. '_Something must have happened to it after I blacked out… Maybe they all hate me because I lost? That would make sense, I guess.'_

Shinji wandered around the hospital for a while, trying to find the exit as well as determine if he was still in the Geofront or on the surface. '_Since NERV is based inside the Geofront, I'm probably still down there. If that's the case, how am I gonna get out? I have no idea where I'm going…'_

Eventually Shinji made his way out of the hospital and its associated buildings. Standing on the bottom, he was again awe-struck by the sheer size of the Geofront. If not for the obvious ceiling, the scenery could easily have been mistaken for a small city surrounded by forestry. Before he even took three steps off the concrete path leading away from the hospital, the cell phone that odd girl had given him rang. "Hello?" he asked cautiously.

"Directions will be downloaded to your phone now. Follow them."

'_That voice…!'_ "Father! Wait just a-"

Shinji realized he was talking to dead air. He swore under his breath and clumsily navigated through the phone's menus until he found the GPS. Sure enough, there were instructions for him to enter the Merkava and proceed to his destination, cryptically marked as 'here'.

…

"So you mean he's been wandering around this place all alone!" Misato's shout was met with an evil look from Ritsuko. The two women were on their way to their Commander's office for an executive meeting. "He just spent two weeks in the hospital, ya know," she continued, albeit more quietly.

"Yes, and he was released two hours ago. Testing thoroughly proved that there was no lasting mental damage," the doctor casually responded.

"You say those kinds of things too smoothly," commented her companion, running a hand through her long, dark blue hair.

"He'll be OK. It'll be good for him to learn the layout of HQ anyway."

"I still think there should have been _someone_ to guide him along."

"You mean… someone like you? Please, Captain. If I hadn't come after you that time, you and that kid would still be wandering around in circles."

"I can't believe you just said that!" Misato shot back, yelling again. "I've only been here for three weeks! You expect me to completely memorize the layout of this huge place in that short amount of time?" Ritsuko raised a hand and massaged her temple.

"Goodness, to think _you're_ in charge of tactical operations…"

"Why you-!"

"We've arrived." Misato quickly pulled her hands back from Ritsuko's neck as the professor nonchalantly pressed the buzzer. "Commander, we're here."

"You always find your way out of these kinds of situations without any hint of resolving the problem…" Misato whispered through gritted teeth.

"Enter," came the cold response from the metal grate. Misato sighed loudly, trying to regain some sense of maturity.

"Well, I hope we're not waiting on that kid forever. I won't be the one to go and find him when he gets lost," Misato huffed. The door slid back into the wall, and the two women entered. "E-eh!"

In front of the Commander's desk stood Ikari Shinji, arms crossed. "Oh! Hi, Misato-san. I was wondering when you'd get here," he said, a mixture of humor and relief in his voice. Misato noticed Ayanami Rei standing away from the two Ikari's, staring out over the Geofront from the wide window behind the Commander's desk.

"Ah, hey, Shinji-kun," she responded with a reserved wave.

"Thank both of you for coming," the Commander stated in a rare moment of courtesy. Misato sharply saluted, a mannerism she knew wasn't appreciated but had stuck with her anyway. She then followed Ritsuko towards the Commander's desk. The doctor took precaution to stand a couple meters away from Shinji, but Misato didn't notice it and took her place between the two. "Firstly, the Third Children will be taking up residence in the fifth sector of the city."

"Sir?" Misato immediately questioned. "Who will he be boarding with? Your apartment isn't near there… and if I recall correctly, most of the bridge and technical staff live in sectors 2 and 3."

"He will live alone."

"Sir, with all due respect-"

"It's OK, Misato-san," Shinji interrupted in a light tone. "I don't mind living alone. This way, I won't be a burden on anyone else."

"Shinji-kun, are you sure?" she asked gently. He was inwardly surprised by this kind of response. They had only met that one time, and she didn't seem particularly friendly to him then… "Commander, if it's alright with you, I'd like the Third Children to live in my apartment." Ritsuko glanced at her companion out of the corner of her eye. "He's only fourteen! Children that age need guidance. I have plenty of room and besides…"

"You _are_ aware of the Second Children's imminent arrival, as well as her planned living quarters?" the Commander asked, knowing full-well that the Second Children had been slated to move into Katsuragi's apartment in less than two weeks. The two women had known each other while Misato had served at the German branch, so it didn't seem out of the ordinary when Misato had requested to become the girl's guardian. With Shinji, however…

"I am aware of the situation. Please, Commander," she asked crisply.

"In that case full legal guardianship will be transferred to Captain Katsuragi, beginning today and extending indefinitely," the Commander responded after a moment's consideration. "Pilot Ikari, your presence is not needed for the rest of this meeting."

"Oh, um… Is it OK if I stay?" he asked quietly. Misato stepped towards him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe it would be better if you walked around some. You _did_ just get out of the hospital, right? We'll have a big welcoming party tonight at my apartment. How does that sound?"

"Um… Sure…"

"Good. Well, take this opportunity and take a visit down to Section 2. Here's the paperwork," she stated as she handed him a thick manila folder. "Get your NERV ID and school transfer papers filled out. There are instructions on the front page. I'll call you in a bit."

"OK," he slowly responded.

'_Wow, she was actually prepared for this situation,'_ Ritsuko thought as the boy left his father's immense office. '_How surprising.'_

"I assume you both know the real purpose of this meeting," the Commander said, rather quietly. Shutters rolled down over the office's window, cutting off Ayanami's view. A holoscreen appeared to the right of the group, opposite of Rei's position.

On the screen replayed the images that they all so vividly remembered.

EVA-01: out of control.

The sheer ferocity the playback showed, as the purple mech savagely beat the third Angel, was horrifying. In the end the enemy made a desperate decision and self-destructed. Its death was, however, meaningless. Unit 01 stepped out of the fireball as if it was nothing and then promptly fell to the ground, lifeless. The holoscreen disappeared, artificial sunlight streamed into the room once more.

"This is what we feared from the moment he was identified in the Marduk Report," Ritsuko said nonchalantly, covering the fact that she was feeling shivers up and down her spine. "It also confirmed your suspicions, Commander."

"Yes. Human beings are weak; they can only handle so much before… they break."

Misato, the true power of the Evangelion still fresh in her mind, tried to keep up with the conversation. Ritsuko had tried to fill her in the night before…

---

"W-what the hell just happened!" Misato yelled. In a small conference room, the Captain and the doctor were having an unofficial discussion.

"The target was eliminated; that's all you should really be concerned with," Ritsuko replied defiantly.

"Bullshit!" Her voice echoed through the room. "You… You put that poor boy into something like _that_! You knew this would happen!"

"Don't be stupid. This _isn't_ supposed to happen, ever. The Evangelion are programmed in such a way that losing control shouldn't happen."

"Well, it sure did. Your 'program' failed."

"No, the program which holds the power of the EVA in check worked flawlessly. If it hadn't, Unit 01 would still be roaming around unchained. It was the pilot who caused this incident." Misato gave Ritsuko a critical look of disbelief. "His ego borderline fell into a dangerous state. Go back and check the readouts if you don't believe me. He _allowed_ the mind of the beast to take control from him. I don't understand how any human could fall into such a state to begin with…"

---

"So, Captain, you knowingly took an unstable element into your home?" Ritsuko asked as she two left the Commander's office.

"That's right. If the pilot is the problem, then I'll have to fix the problem myself. I wouldn't trust anyone else with this," Misato stated in a low voice. "If I'm responsible for the safety of this city, the safety of a couple kids shouldn't be too hard."

"Oh? Is this a rare glimmer of the adult you've become?" Misato smiled lightly.

"Maybe I'm not the girl you knew back in college."

"Oh please…" Ritsuko said with a chuckle. "About that welcoming party… You gonna have any beer?"

"Heck yea I will!" the Captain yelled happily, shattering her previously solemn look. "Rit-chan, after the past couple weeks, I could use a good drink!"

"Same here. I'll be over later, then." Ritsuko began to wonder what was on Misato's mind, as she stood there smiling so broadly.

"Well, what are you doing now? Maybe we could hit up the bars a little early…" Realization dawned on the doctor, who grinned coyly.

"Don't you have something to do right now?"

"Uh… Let's see… hmmm…" Ritsuko sighed rather loudly. "What, what am I supposed to be doing?"

"You're _supposed_ to call Shinji-kun!"

---

Somewhere in the depths of the Merkava, sitting over a heap of paperwork, Shinji sneezed.

…

As Shinji stood, blushing, in front of a group of his seemingly uninterested peers, he thought, '_Damn that Misato. I told her I didn't want to start school for a couple more weeks so I could get used to things in this city.'_

The old teacher adjusted his thick-lensed glasses. "Ikari-kun, since this is your first day we will disregard your tardiness. Now, please take a seat behind Orihime, there in the back row." Shinji visually confirmed the only open seat in the back row and proceeded between the lines of desks. Just as he was about to reach his seat, someone stuck their foot out into the aisle.

Shinji tripped over the protrusion, but through sheer luck and arm-flailing he managed to keep his balance. Quiet giggles broke out in the classroom. Ikari quickly turned his head to his right, but his smiling target only pointed across the way. Reassessing his target, Shinji found a rather tall boy in a black track uniform. The boy was leaning back in his chair, hands resting behind his head, a confident smirk across his face.

"You think that was pretty funny, huh?" Shinji asked in a low voice.

"Don't be angry, new kid. It was just a coincidence," he whispered, though he too began chuckling. "Lighten up." Shinji's eyes narrowed as the anger inside him grew, but he backed down and finally found his seat. Almost instantly, a message appeared on his desktop.

AIDA.k - 'Don't take him too seriously. We've been getting a lot of new students here lately, so it's kind of annoying. Plus his younger sister was injured during that big battle. He's just easing some of that anger inside him'

While not consoled in the least, Shinji typed back, 'Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.' He rested his head in one of his palms and began to drift away into sleep; his body still hadn't recovered from his hospital stay.

After what seemed like forever, the lunch break finally came.

Finding that, as he had heard from his teacher back home, junior high cafeterias were socially segregated places, Shinji made the easy decision to eat his meager bento box in the school yard. He sat under a large maple tree in the northwest corner of the yard, the place furthest from any other students.

Most of his classmates didn't even take notice. As that one kid had said, there had been quite a few students transferring in lately. There was one, however, that had been watching the new student like a hawk all morning. No, there were actually two, but Shinji had only noticed one of them. That track suit-wearing boy had been glancing at him during class; Shinji could feel the boy's piercing eyes even though he was quite a distance from the cafeteria windows.

Late in the lunch period, nothing had happened. Shinji's stomach had begun to unknot as his anxiety subsided. All of it was for naught. Suzuhara Touji, the track suit-wearing boy, approached the new kid intentionally slowly. As he crossed the schoolyard, the eyes of all their classmates became transfixed on the impending scene. Shinji had seen him exit the school immediately and decided to pretend he didn't. He sat back against the tree and closed his eyes, a small, sad smile appearing on his face.

"Hey, new kid," Suzuhara said quietly when he reached the base of the large tree. Shinji didn't respond at all. That smile annoyed Touji even more. "Open yer eyes, transfer student. I know you ain't sleepin'." In his mind Shinji realized he hadn't heard a Kansai dialect in quite some time.

"What do you want?" he asked coolly, still not opening his eyes.

"I heard a rumor that you piloted that huge robot. Somebody saw you coming out of one of the restricted Geofront exits."

"My dad works there, so I was just visiting him," Shinji explained nonchalantly, hoping the boy would be satisfied.

"_All_ of our dads work there, but none of us are ever allowed down there," Touji shot back. "There's no way a kid like us would be allowed into the Geofront… unless you really are the one who was riding that thing. I'm just asking a simple 'yes or no' question, dude."

"No."

"No?"

"I didn't pilot that thing. I backed out," Shinji lied, though keeping his tone even. Before he realized what was happening, Suzuhara pulled Shinji up by his collar and punched him right in his jaw. The young Ikari was knocked to the ground, but quickly stumbled back to his feet.

"What the hell was that for!" he yelled, rubbing the area where he'd been struck. A small dribble of blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth.

"Because you're a freakin' liar!" Suzuhara yelled back. "My little sister was buried under a pile of rubble when _your_ damn robot smashed the building she was inside! Were you really payin' attention in that cockpit or did you just space out and accidentally smash a building with people inside!" Shinji frowned.

'_Misato told me that no one was killed or seriously hurt during the fight… Even though I can't remember it, I beat that thing… but why didn't anybody at NERV tell me that people got hurt?'_

"You look like you didn't even know there _were_ people around. You're pathetic! I'd rather be protected by an army of stuffed animals than an incapable guy like you!" He stepped back and pulled his fist back, giving Shinji ample time to dodge his punch. The scrawny boy made no effort to move away as the fist collided into his stomach. Suzuhara walked away as Ikari doubled over and fell onto the ground again, this time staying down.

Touji was met with cheers and jeers when he returned to the cafeteria, but noticed that one other student was missing besides Ikari. '_Ayanami… So you really were watching him, too. I wonder why she's interested in a guy like that,'_ he wondered.

Back outside, a pale girl with light blue hair stood before Shinji, who still lie on the ground.

"Why didn't you try to get out of his path of attack? There was ample time," she noted in a rather emotionless way. Shinji didn't… no, couldn't respond. She stood there, unmoving and silent, as he recovered.

"Basically,… I didn't want to," he finally choked out.

"I don't understand," came her simply response.

"What I mean… I didn't know people were injured because of me. It's only… His anger… I understand why he'd feel that way."

"Nonetheless, I still do not understand." Shinji, now thoroughly wondering just who he was talking with, opened his eyes.

"Y-you!" It was the girl from his hospital room, the one who had her arm in a sling. In the daytime sunlight, he finally saw her odd features. Her skin color, eyes, hair… All were odd. Her blank facial expression didn't change as he slowly got back onto his feet. "T-thank you..." She blinked as her confusion deepened. "In the hospital you were the only one who visited me. I didn't feel so lonely then…"

"I was there by order of Commander Ikari."

"Oh, my father's? By the way, I'm Ikari Shinji." They stood there in silence, a gust of wind blowing a stray leaf past them. "Um… You are?"

"Ayanami Rei."

'_Ayanami Rei, automaton girl,'_ he mentally noted. "You mentioned my father… Are you a part of NERV as well?"

"I'm a pilot, like you."

"Oh, so your arm…?"

"An accident."

"I see," he uneasily answered. "Sorry, I'm not used to having these casual conversations," Shinji added with a little laugh. It quickly died away when he noticed her stony face. Suddenly, her hand reached up to his face, her fingers softly running over his lips. The boy froze. '_Whoa! What the hell is this now!'_

After a moment the touch was broken. She examined the fingers carefully. "You're still bleeding. I will assist you in reaching the nurse's office."

"Uh-um… Oh, well… Y-you think it's that serious?"

Shinji mentally sighed in a mix of relief and disappointment, as the 'dreams of a young man' died away in his head.

To be continued…

Author's note: So here I am. For those who follow my stories, I have resumed work on 'Beyond the Pleasure Principle' once again, albeit at a sluggish pace. Expect a new chapter before Halloween. I had planned on writing much more in this chapter, but I felt it was important to keep the chapter size consistent. This chapter ends on a humorous note, unlike most of mine which seem to end in cliffhangers. Change is nice. I hope this story is different enough from the original series to keep the audience entertained.


End file.
